Method and apparatus for attaching adhesive tape to a rough surface



3,350,256 ESIVE Oct. 31, 1967 c. a. ECKMAN ETAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FORATTACHING ADH TAPE TO A ROUGH SURFACE Filed March 27, 1964 3 Sheets$heetl m QM O O m M mu ww Mu [4 I1 //O\|/\ $7 .9 5&3? WI i /Q\ W. RM Q mm RhM QM l 0 ww 9 NM gm l I II IIIII. Q. I/MN WW QM PAUL H M150 5 I/ 1 MyATTP/VE 5 06L 1957 v c B. ECKMAN ETAL METHOD AND APARATUS FOR ATTACHINGADHESIVE TAPE TO A ROUGH SURFACE Filed March 27, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vHG-Z III INVENTORS CHAR; 5 fiEcA MA/v' IDAUL 11 14 SUN %770)PNEY5 c. B.ECKMAN ETAL I 3,350,256 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING ADHESIVE Oct.31,1967

' TAPE TO A ROUGH SURFACE Filed March 27, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTORS C/14RLE5 .5, EC/(Mfl/V PAUL H. lV/LSON I 14770 HEY UnitedStates Patent 3,350,256 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING ADHESIVE TAPETO A ROUGH SURFACE Charles B. Eckman and Paul H. Wilson, St. Paul,Minn., assignors to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St.Paul, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 27, 1964, Ser. No.355,236 3 Claims. (Cl. 156-497) The present invention relates to amethod and apparatus for attaching adhesive tape to a rough surface,such as asphalt or concrete pavement, to provide a temporary orpermanent striping on the pavement.

Pressure-sensitive tape has been found to be useful for the striping ofhighways, construction zones, detours, cross-walks, interchanges,parking lots, ramps, and many other outdoor or indoor paved surfaces,for the reason that it can be installed and removed very quickly andeasily. Such tape can be made with its non-adhesive back side containingmany different colors, to designate separate areas or to help carry outtrafiic instructions, and the non-adhesive side of the tape can bereflectorized to provide greater visibility during the night hours.Pavement striping in the form of tape can be installed withoutinterrupting trafiic, since it needs no drying time, and such tape canbe removed easily and without a trace of its former location. However,such tapes have not been widely used for the reason that it has notheretofore been possible to adhere the tape to the pavement withsufiicient bond so that it would not become disadhered when it iscontacted by moving traflic. It is an object of this invention toprovide a method and apparatus for so adhering the tape to pavement byconforming the tape to the surface of the pavement.

Applicants method for attaching the adhesive tape to a rough pavementsurface involves the use of a brush to tamp the tape against thepavement. Almost any kind of brush can be used, and the tape is firstapplied to the pavement so that the adhesive surface is in contact withthe surface of the pavement, and the brush is then moved brikly andrepeatedly against the non-adhesive back side of the tape so that thefree ends of the projecting bristles of the brush cause the adhesiveside of the tape to be driven or tamped against the rough surface of thepavement. The brush can be of any desired shape, and can be weighted toprovide a greater striking force if such is necessary. Also, anapparatus can be constructed in such manner that the tape can be drivenor tamped against the pavement and such a machine is shown in theattached drawings.

The embodiment of this invention which is illustrated in the drawings isa self-propelled applicator of pavement striping tape which applies thetape to the pavement and then tamps the tape against the pavement, andthat machine is capable of so attaching the tape at speeds of 40 to 80feet per minute. Since pavements are apt to be covered with dirt, sandor other debris, the illustrated machine is provided with an air blowerattachment for cleaning the pavement in front of the machine. Thatmachine also includes means for mounting a supply of the tape and forguiding and applying tape from that supply to the pavement, along withapplicants novel means for tamping the tape to attach it to thepavement. Other objects and advantages of such a machine will beapparent from the following detailed description of the illustratedembodiment which is shown in tthe accompanying drawings, in whichdrawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the machine of this invention,with a roll of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape mounted therein, withsome of the parts of the machine cut away or shown in section and otherparts shown in dotted lines, for reasons of clarity;

sprockets 19 and 20,

roller 61,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIGURE 1, withsome of the parts removed and others shown in section, for reasons ofclarity; and

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1, with some ofthe parts removed and others shown in dotted lines, for reasons ofclarity.

Referring first toFIGURE 2, the reference character 10 designates amounting plate to which the parts of the machine are attached. Supportplates 11 and 12 are attached along each side and beneath the mountingplate 10 and axle plates 13 and 14 are attached to the support plates 11and 12. Axles l5 and 16 are attached to axle plates 13 and 14, and thedriven wheels 17 and 18 are rotatably attached to said axles. Sprockets19 and 20 are affixed to wheels 17 and 18. As is shown in FIGURES 1 and3, a pair of castor wheels 21 and 22 are attached to support plates 11and 12 by means of brackets 23 and 24.

A 4 cycle gasoline motor 25 is attached to the upper surface of mountingplate 10, and pulley wheels 26 are attached to the drive shaft of saidmotor. A counter shaft 27 is rotatably attached to the mounting plate 10and pulley wheels 28 are attached to said counter shaft. Pulley belts 29are positioned around the wheels 26 and 28 so the operation of the motor25 will cause the counter shaft 27 to be rotated.

A four speed transmission is attached to mounting plate 10 and a gearshift lever 36 is attached to said transmission for selecting thedesired speed. A pulley 37 is attached to the drive shaft of thetransmission 35, a pulley 38 is rotatably attached to the counter shaft27, and a pulley belt 39 is attached around the pulleys 37 and 38. Aclutch 40 is attached to the counter shaft 27 adjacent to the pulley 38,and operation of that clutch causes pulley 38 to be rotated with thecounter shaft 27. A pair of sprockets 41 and 42 are attached to the endsof driven shafts 43 of transmission 35, and a pair of chains 44 and 45are attached around the sprockets 41 and 42 and the so that theoperation of the motor 25 will cause the driven wheels 17 and 18 to beoperated in the direction and at the speed controlled by thetransmission 35 when the clutch 40 is engaged to cause the rotationalmovement of the pulley 38.

A bracket is attached to mounting plate 10 at the front of the machine,and a roll of pressure-sensitive tape 51 is mounted on a rod 52 whichextends across the top of the bracket. The unwound tape T from the roll51 is threaded through a series of guiding and applying rollers whichare attached between the support plates 11 and 12. If a liner is used tocover the adhesive surface of the tape, that liner can be removed andwound up on a takeup roll 53 as the tape is unwound from the roll 51during the operation of the machine.

As the tape T is unwound from the roll 51, it extends first around aguide roller 56 in such a manner that the non-adhesive back side of thetape is in contact with said roller, and then around a roller 57 in sucha manner that the adhesive side of the tape is in contact with thesurface of a roller 57. A chain 54 extends around the take-up roller 53and the roller 57 to cause the take-up roller 53 to be rotated as theguide rollers are rotated during the movement of the tape through themachine. The tape then extends around an idler roller 58 so that theback non-adhesive side of the tape contacts said roller, and then arounda knurled roller 59 so that the adhesive side of the tape is in contactwith the surface of the knurled roller 59. An applying roller 60 ispivotally attached to the end of a lever 62 and a buffer roller 61 ispivotally attached to the end of a lever 63. The levers 62 and 63 areattached to the support plates 11 and 12, and a spring 69 is attached tothe opposite end of lever 63 from butting and said spring serves to biassaid bufling roller 3 toward the pavement P. A knife blade 65 isattached to support plates 11 and 12, and said blade extends between theapplying roller 60 and buffing roller 61.

A crank lever 64 is pivotally attached to the support plate 12. Anapplicator rod 66 is attached to the crank lever, and the other end ofsaid applicator rod is attached to an applicator handle 67. Applicatorhandle 67 is pivotally attached to the handle 68 for the machine. Atoggle lever 49 is pivotally attached to the crank lever 64 and to thelever 62. Thus, when the applicator handle 67 is moved away from theapplying roller 60, the lever 62 and roller 60 are moved toward themounting plate and away from the pavement P, and vice versa. The tape Tis threaded from the knurled roller 59 around applying roller 60 andbutfing roller 61 so that the non-adhesive back side of the tapecontacts those rollers when the tape is being applied to the pavement,and those rollers serve to apply and buff the tape against the pavement.When the applicator handle 67 is moved away from the roller 60, so thatroller is moved toward mounting plate 10, the tape T will be pulled intoand be severed by knife blade 65.

Referring again to FIGURE 2, an annular shaped brush 70 is mounted on apair of bearings 71 which have their apertures positioned slightlyoff-set from the center of the bearings. A shaft 72 is journaled throughthe bearings 71 and attached to the support plates 11 and 12 by means ofbearings 73 and 74, so the brush 70 is attached eccentricallyonto themachine. A pulley 75 is attached to the shaft 72 and a pulley 76 isrotatably attached on the counter shaft 27. A clutch 77 is attached tothe counter shaft 27 and adjacent to the pulley 76, so that operation ofthe clutch will cause the pulley 76 to be rotated with the counter shaft27, and a belt 78 is attached around the pulleys 75 and 76, so thatoperation of the clutch 77 will cause the shaft 72 to be rotated. Acounter-weight 48 is affixed to the shaft 72 to balance the rotationalmovement of said shaft. Since the bearings 71 on the brush 70 areeccentrically mounted on the axle 72, the rotational movement of thepulley 75 will cause the brush 70 to be moved in a cranking movement,toward and away from the pavement, and the bristles on the brush willtamp the tape against the pavement. Since the brush 70 is free to turnon the bearings 71, the brush will revolve on the shaft 72, and the samearea of the brush will not contact the tape each time the brush tampsagainst the back of the tape. A oneway ratchet 79 is attached to brush70, and a stop dog 80 is pivotally attached to support plate 11. Theoperation of the stop dog 80 and the ratchet 79 will permit rotationalmovement of brush 70 in the counter-clockwise direction, when viewed asshown in FIGURE 1, but will prevent the rotational movement of thatbrush in the clockwise direction.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, an air blower 90 is attached by means of aflexible coupling 91 to the motor 25, and a housing 92 directs the airfrom the blower 90 toward the front of the machine, so that the air isexpelled from the blower ahead of the machine in order to remove dust,sand and gravel before tape is applied. An applicator guide bar 93extends in the front from the housing 92 in order to provide theoperator of the machine with an indication of the position in which tapewill be applied to the pavement. A dust skirt 94 extends downwardlyagainst the pavement from mounting plate 10 to keep the dust, sand andgravel which is blown from the pavement from contacting the tape T.Another dust skirt 95 is attached to the rear of the machine to protectthe operator from flying sand or gravel.

The operation of the machine begins with the tape T threaded asdescribed above and with the motor 25 started and running at idlingspeed. The blower 90 will then be operating to blow dust and debris awayfrom the front of the machine. The operator first moves the shift lever36 from the transmission 35 to the desired speed for the machine andthen moves the levers 30 and 31 toward the right when the machine isviewed as it is shown in 4 FIGURES 2 and 3, to cause the clutches 40 and77 to be engaged and to drive the pulley belts 39 and 78, so that themachine will begin to move and the brush 70 will begin to be moved upand down in a pounding and scrubbing movement against the pavement. Thelevers 30 and 31 are tied together by a bar 32 so the clutches 40 and 77will be operated at the same time. The operator guides the machine bymoving the handle 68 and aligning the guide bar 93 with the area towhich the tape is to be attached, and when the machine has been properlypositioned, he moves the applicator handle 67 toward the pavement.

At the start of the tape applying operation, the free end of the tapefrom the roll 51 extends between the applying roller 60 and thepavement. Thus the end of the tape will be moved against the pavement bythe movement in that direction of applying roller 60, and the end of thetape and tape adjacent to the end will be applied to the pavement byapplying roller 60. The applied tape will then be buffed against thepavement by the bufiing roller 61, and continued motion of the machinewill cause tape T to be unwound from the roll 51 and be pulled throughthe rollers and be applied to the pavement P. A rod-like tape guide 33can be attached to the bracket 50 to aid in holding the tape roll 51 andkeep the tape aligned as it is unwound from the roll.

After the unwound tape T has been applied to the pavement and buffeddown by the movement of the machine, the tape is then contacted by theends of the bristles of the brush 70, and the action of the movingbristles causes the tape to become attached to the pavement. Thewhipping movement of the brush 70 on the shaft 72 causes the brush to berevolved at a great speed on said shaft, so the bristles are movedbriskly and repeatedly against the tape, tamping the tape and causingthe tape to conform and become adhered to the rough pavement. Bristlesmade of nylon seem to function in the desirable manner in a brush usedon this machine.

When the operator desires to stop the operation of attaching tape topavement with the machine, he pulls back on the applicator handle 67,causing the applying roller 60 to be lifted away from the pavement andthe tape T to be severed across the width thereof by the knife blade 65.The machine is permitted to continue past the cut-off point of theapplied tape in order to tamp such tape against the pavement, and thenthe machine can be turned off.

As is evident from the above description of an embodiment of ourinvention, variations in the operation and various modifications of themachine can be envisioned. Such variations, embodying some or all of thenovel features herein disclosed, are comprehended and we do not intendto be limited only to the specific embodiment herein described, but,rather, we intend to be limited only by our disclosure taken as a whole,including the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A machine for attaching adhesive tape to a rough surface, saidmachine comprising a supporting structure, means attached to saidsupporting structure for holding a supply of said tape, means attachedto said supporting srtucture for applying said tape to said surface, anannular brush attached eccentrically to said supporting structure, andmeans for rotating said brush to cause said brush to be moved repeatedlyand briskly against the tape after the adhesive side of the tape hasbeen applied to the rough surface to tamp the tape to said surface andto cause the tape to become adhered to said surface.

2. A machine for attaching adhesive tape to a rough surface, saidmachine comprising a supporting structure including means for propellingsaid supporting structure, means attached to said supporting structurefor cleaning said rough surface, means attached to said supportingstructure for holding a supply of said tape, means attached to saidsupporting structure for applying said tape to said surface, an annularbrush attached eccentrically to a shaft which is attached to saidsupporting structure, means for rotating said shaft to cause said brushto be moved repeatedly and briskly against the tape after the adhesiveside of the tape has been applied to the rough surface, to tamp the tapeto said surface and to cause the tape to become adhered to said surface,and means for severing said attached tape from said supply thereof.

3. A machine for attaching adhesive tape to a rough surface, saidmachine comprising a frame structure supported on wheels, a motorattached to said frame structure and connected to said wheels forpropelling said frame, an air blower attached to said frame andconnected to said motor for blowing dirt away from said frame, rollersattached to said frame for applying adhesive tape to a rough surface assaid frame is propelled by said motor, a knife blade attached to saidframe structure for severing said tape across the width thereof, an

annular brush attached eccentrically to a shaft on said frame structureand connection between said motor and said shaft to cause said shaft tobe rotated and cause said brush to be moved repeatedly and brisklyagainst the tape after the adhesive side of the tape has been applied tothe rough surface to t-amp the tape to said surface and to cause thetape to become adhered to said surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,498,618 6/1924 Fritz 1565261,745,802 2/1930 McBurney 156-526 3,097,986 7/1963 Kauer 1565773,131,104 4/1964 Korn 156-73 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner. DOUGLASJ. DRUMMOND, Examiner.

1. A MACHINE FOR ATTACHING ADHESIVE TAPE TO A ROUGH SURFACE, SAIDMACHINE COMPRISING A SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, MEANS ATTACHED TO SAIDSUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR HOLDING A SUPPLY OF SAID TAPE, MEANS ATTACHEDTO SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR APPLYING SAID TAPE TO SAID SURFACE, ANANNULAR BRUSH ATTACHED ECCENTRICALLY TO SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, ANDMEANS FOR ROTATING SAID BRUSH TO CAUSE SAID BRUSH TO BE MOVED REPEATEDLYAND BRISKLY AGAINST THE TAPE AFTER THE ADHESIVE SIDE OF THE TAPE HASBEEN APPLIED TO THE ROUGH SURFACE TO TAMP THE TAPE TO SAID SURFACE ANDTO CAUSE THE TAPE TO BECOME ADHERED TO SAID SURFACE.